Australian parents turn to alcohol to deal with COVID-19 lockdown stress

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Australian parents stressed out by home schooling during the coronavirus pandemic are turning to alcohol.

One in five parents have started drinking daily, or every other day, in front of their children since the lockdown began, new statistics show.

A quarter of parents blame the stress of teaching kids for hitting the bottle, while one in three put their drinking down to coronavirus-fuelled anxiety and stress.

Erin Lalor from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, which surveyed 1000 parents across Australia, wants people to rethink their habits.

She is concerned about the health impacts as well as the message it might send to kids.

“If you are feeling stressed or anxious, it’s best to avoid drinking alcohol because it can make these feelings worse,” Dr Lalor said on Friday

“It’s also essential that children don’t learn to view alcohol as a coping mechanism.”

Parents of nine to 12 year olds were drinking most, with Millennial parents drinking more than those from Generation X and Baby Boomers.

Industry lobby group Alcohol Beverages Australia chief executive Andrew Wilsmore pointed to an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey finding one in seven Australians had increased their alcohol intake.

But he said with nearly half drinking the same, 10 per cent reducing intake and 30 per cent abstaining, it meant the majority were drinking responsibly.

“’It’s time Australians were given credit for their responsible conduct during this crisis,” Mr Wilsmore said.